Is there anything to fear from fructose?

There's been some bad news about fructose lately, especially High Fructose Corn syrup, the sweetener so widely used in food manufacturing in the US. Last month researchers at Princeton University in the US found that rats eating high-fructose corn syrup gained more weight than those eating table sugar, even when they were eating the same amount of kilojoules.

It adds to other research that suggests fructose behaves differently to cane sugar in the body and that too much can cause problems like more fat around the belly, a rise in harmful blood fats called triglycerides, and an increased risk of insulin resistance - the precursor to diabetes. So should we worry about consuming too much fructose?

The first thing to know about the fructose story is that the US and Australian food industries use different sweeteners in processed foods, confectionery and soft drink. In the US, it's mostly corn syrup made up of 55 per cent fructose and 45 per cent glucose, while Australia generally uses sucrose from sugar cane which is 50 per cent fructose and 50 per cent glucose. But regardless of which country you're eating in, if your diet includes a lot of sweetened processed food washed down with soft drink, then you're consuming a lot of fructose. The big question is - is fructose doing something extra in our bodies to fuel obesity other than just adding a lot of extra kilojoules?

Given the research so far, Dr Tim Crowe, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition at Deakin University's School of Exercise and Nutrition Science, isn't convinced that it is.

"Most of the research has used higher doses of fructose than people would normally eat, so it's not mirroring the way people consume fructose in real life," he points out.

Fructose of course is also the main sugar in fruit. Yet studies of fruitarians - whose diet consists mainly of fruit, nuts and seeds - suggest they have fewer problems with obesity and diabetes than other people, Crowe adds. "You'd also expect to see the same problems in orang-utans whose diet is mainly fruit and who are very similar to us, yet such metabolic problems don't occur."

What about studies suggesting that unlike glucose, high levels of fructose don't prompt production of leptin, (a hormone that tells the body when it's had enough to eat) nor suppress the 'hunger hormone' ghrelin that makes you want to eat? Again, says Crowe, research comparing people given fructose, glucose or sucrose has found that in the short term at least the effects on appetite and appetite hormones are the same.

But while Tim Crowe is all for avoiding added sugar in processed food because of the kilojoule load, he wouldn't want bad press about fructose to stop anyone from dipping into the fruit bowl - that's not where the problems with obesity or raised blood fats lie.

"Whole fruit comes with fibre and a lot of other beneficial nutrients, and most people aren't eating enough of it," he says. As for dried fruit, like fruit consumed as juice it's easy to eat a lot of it, but in small amounts - such as in your morning muesli - it's fine.

What about using fructose as an alternative to table sugar at home?

It's not a healthier alternative to sucrose and offers little additional benefit, says Crowe. If anything, it could be more of a problem for many people due to the risk of fructose malabsorption. This is where the gut has difficulty absorbing fructose and any fructose left lingering in the bowel ferments, causing gas. But consuming the same amount of fructose together with glucose - as happens when you eat sucrose - doesn't normally result in fructose malabsorbtion because glucose has the ability to 'drag' fructose with it when it's being absorbed, he explains.

Incidentally, the American Diabetes Association recommends that people with diabetes don't use fructose in place of sucrose because when it's used a lot (e.g. 20 per cent of a person's total energy intake) it can result in changes in levels of blood fats that may be harmful, adds Crowe.

"But the ADA states that there's no reason to recommend people with diabetes avoid eating fruit and vegetables in which fructose occurs naturally."

How many spoonfuls of sugar is that in your yoghurt?

As with salt, most of the sugar we eat isn't what we add at home, but what's added in manufacturing to processed foods - and the 28g (seven teaspoons) of sugar in the single (175g) serve of passionfruit yoghurt I bought last weekend seems like a lot to me, even accounting for the sugar that's a natural part of milk (lactose) and fructose from the fruit.

When you're scanning nutrition panels it helps to know that 4g of sugar = 1 teaspoon. To figure out how many teaspoons of sugar there is in a product, just divide the number of sugar grams by 4. Another quick way of estimating whether a food is high or low in sugar is this tip from the Cancer Council NSW - 5g sugar per 100g is just a little, while 15g or more per 100g is a lot.

Do you bother to check nutrition panels to see how much sugar is added?

Posted
by Paula GoodyerApril 5, 2010 2:24 PM

LATEST COMMENTS

I should check how much sugar is in the foods I buy... but the reality is that I love sugar (although I don't like fruit - go figure). Over the last ten years, I have gone as far as giving up meat, eggs, milk and wheat, but when it comes to sugar I just can't do it. (That being said, I am now eating a bit of wheat and chicken again.)

Has anyone gone cold turkey, or did you give up sugar gradually? What was the effect? I don't want to replace it with chemical-laden fake sweeteners.

I just don't know where to start. I think it would make a big difference to my health... Am probably the worst person to offer advice as I don't have a sweet tooth, but I'd imagine that gradually reducing the sweetness of what you eat would be the go - that way you'd allow your taste buds to adjust. It's like the process for reducing salt. Paula

Posted by: GC on April 7, 2010 7:51 AM

Yeah, I always check... for me there is no point in exercising to get rid of The Dreaded Paunch if you're gonna be eating a belly full of sugar.

I went to drink a 26g sachet of drinking chocolate the other day (at work) to find that 8g was sugar - and 4g was 'mineral' salt!

Then of course you have the milk... all up it was a cup of sweetened fat and salt... but Easter got me in the end... back to the gym.

But, yeah, I watch sugar in everything, almost never add it to anything and try and buy sugar free chocolate.
Its interesting that when I eat sugar free chocolate I can't eat anywhere near as much... and dont want to either. A couple of bites and I'm satisfied.

Posted by: JP on April 7, 2010 8:55 AM

Most of the time I check the nutrition panels for sugar and fat content when comparing products. Epecially breakfast cereals and am sometimes shocked at the amount of sugar in some of them, even the supposedly healthier brands.

Thanks for the conversion rate of grams of sugar to teaspoons, will definitely use this.

Posted by: Niente on April 7, 2010 8:57 AM

When I was growing up my parents were always very "added sugar" conscious and the habit has followed through into adult life. I usually read labels for the sugar content (you'd be amazed at what is high in sugar), and as a result have never really developed much of a sweet tooth. Sweet foods usually make me feel unwell.

Posted by: Hajo on April 7, 2010 12:42 PM

For those of you that have a sweet tooth, have you considered Stevia or Xylitol? Both are naturally derived sugar replacements with significantly fewer calories. Stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose too apparently.

I'm not a nutritionist or dietician, so that's all I know about the products, but I understand them to be good replacements.

Paula - perhaps you could comment on this? Just checked one of my most trusted nutrition 'bibles' -Rosemary Stanton's Complete Book of Food and Nutrition - and xylitol, a sugar alcohol, looks ok - similar sweetness to sugar, half the kilojoules and not harmful to teeth, though it can cause diarrhoea and wind if you over do it. As for stevia, I think we have to wait and see whether it turns out to be useful with weight loss. Although stevia's advantage is zero kilojoules, there's some research suggesting that because our bodies are wired to expect plenty of kilojoules from sweet-tasting foods, we're left unsatisfied by zero kilojoule sweeteners and keep on seeking out sweet foods to make up for the missing kilojoules. Here's a link to some more info on stevia from Catherine Saxelby in GI News http://www.glycemicindex.com/blog/2009/may2009/may.2009.pdf - just scroll down a bit and you'll get to it. Paula

Posted by: MissJayne on April 7, 2010 12:56 PM

Yes, I do read the nutrition labels and have long been conscious of sugar content. However, one thing I have never really come to grips with is, just how much sugar per day is "normal"? As far as I know there's no specific amount of sugar recommended - the general message is don't overdo it. See this info on the Dietitians' Association of Australia website http://www.daa.asn.au/index.asp?PageID=2145834475 Paula

Posted by: Ed H on April 7, 2010 1:01 PM

I used to have a sweet tooth where I would crave sweet foods, especially after a meal. That is until I was able to address Candida albicans (yeast overgrowth) in my system and also increase my consumption of liver in the form of chicken liver pate. Pate is high in Vitamins A and D and is wonderful food for combating sugar craving. The best recipe for it is from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. I used to eat alot because my body was so depleted of these vital nutrients. Now I only need a little. My kids love it too which is a bonus as it is so important for them in developing healthy bodies and ensuring they have a low sugar diet.

Posted by: Weston A Price follower on April 7, 2010 1:18 PM

Paula, - were have you gone from The Age? There are no postings since March 1!

Hi - the Age and the SMH blogs and comments have been combined on a single site, but you should still be able to access it from the Age Life and Style page - if you scroll down a bit you should see it with the other Life and Style blogs. If you have any problems, let me know. Paula.

Posted by: yellowfly on April 7, 2010 1:28 PM

Well, when reading panels I place the most weight on avoiding products with non-food additives with no nutritional value - all those thickeners and stabilisers and numbers... especially most thickeners which just destroy the texture of food.

Then I look for both sugar and fat content but am stricter about watching sugar. A diet with some (animal) saturated fat in careful moderation has worked for me whereas many 'low fat' foods are crammed to the hilt with excess sugar (or salt), with not much less fat in some cases. Flavoured yoghurt I'm looking at you!

Posted by: Sophie on April 7, 2010 1:40 PM

GC: I have given up sugar in all my foods, as well as all white grains that cause my blood sugar to spike. I do still eat 2 pieces of fruit a day, though.

A really useful website for advice on giving up sugar (which I used) is www.radiantrecovery.com

It has a 7 step plan, which is very gradual and allows you to adjust. You would be amazed at how vastly improved your life is when you give it up!! I was a total addict before.

Posted by: Sugar free on April 7, 2010 1:42 PM

When I was a teeneager I was a track rider for a local horse trainer. After morning work outs I would come inside for breakfast and consumed, along with a huge cooked breakfast, a large cup of milky tea and six teaspoons of sugar. Sometimes I would go back for seconds. I had also developed the habit of adding sugar to my iceberg lettuce. Consequently, while not being at all overweight, I was given the news that I was well on my way to type 2 diabetes. I quit sugar cold turkey. That was 30 years ago and I have not returned to my 'sweet' ways. That's a lot of sugar - but I'm not clear on the connection with diabetes. My understanding is that it's mainly inactivity and overweight that are risk factors, and while a lot of sugar can contribute to weight gain, I didn't think it could directly contribute to type 2 diabetes. Paula

Posted by: Liz on April 7, 2010 1:55 PM

No mentions of fructose mal-absorption issues?
I was suffering from gas and bloating for quite some time.

I have really cut down on fructose foods and noticed a massive change in my digestion straight away. (apples, pears, onions, juices etc)

I can eat a certain amount of fructose each day, but anything over my limit and its more gas.

Posted by: mb on April 7, 2010 2:07 PM

The problem I find with products containing fruit is that the nutrition panel doesn't detail what is natural sugars vs added? That's a good point. Your only guide is the order in which the ingrededients are listed on the pack. If sugar is listed ahead of fruit, for instance, you can assume that most of the sugar is added rather than from the fructose in fruit. Paula

Posted by: Graeme on April 7, 2010 2:22 PM

I grew up on a diet of mainly home grown veggies and minimal processed foods, so checking nutritional food panels was something I became very aware of as I got older and more informed about food. I have checked for kj, sugar, fat, salt and the endless list of preservatives/additives in the ingredients list for many years now and like being able to chose my foods based on this information. I like being aware of what I am putting into my body and having an informed choice. The sugar conversion given for grams of sugar/per teaspoon in the article is great. It will be much easier to work out the sugar content of foods in the future, thanks.

Posted by: Sonja on April 7, 2010 2:28 PM

I do check the lables on things now, because I've realised there's often loads of sugar in things you wouldn't have expected - like mayonnaise, pasta sauces and salad dressings for example. I also generally steer clear of low fat foods. Apart from the fact that they usually taste pretty ordinary, I find they often ramp up the sugar content to make up for the taste that has been lost by reducing the fat.

In response to GC's comment - I've also found that sugar can be quite addictive, and have defintiely experienced sugar cravings when I've tried to cut down. I've found the best approach is cold turkey. In general I think I eat pretty healthily, but a few years ago I found myself with a daily 'caramel latte' habit, and I felt really deprived when I didn't have it. Cutting down (just having one twice a week say), just didn't work. I still found myself craving them. In the end I had to cut them out altogether and that did work. I've also known people to become addicted to soft drinks, who have had to go cold turkey to break the habit. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this?

Posted by: Parsley on April 7, 2010 2:33 PM

great article paula.

Inspired by this lecture by Dr Robert Lustig, for the past three months (apart from one tiny egg, half a dozen hot cross buns and a couple of tiny small chocies this easter over the course of a week), I've had no cake, bikkies, hot choccy, etc.

There has been sugar in some things I've eaten eg peanut butter) but its been minimal. I've noticed i don't feel as mood swingy before.

its been hard saying no, particularly sitting in Brunetti's whilst all my friends have italian hot choccy and cake, but its been a good willpower exercise.

I do have fruit, because, as Lustig says, the fibre in the fruit can help slow the absorption down.

Posted by: eyeswideshut on April 7, 2010 3:02 PM

No one ever mentions how much sugar there is in dog food.
When my mini-dachshund had diabetes, I would have to hunt around for processed dog food which did not contain much sugar. Even the Science Diet and specially prepared health food for dogs had added sugar. What surprised me was that rawhide chews had sugar added.
thyme

Posted by: Megan Jones on April 7, 2010 3:12 PM

I was recent declared a 'pre-diabetic' ... "So I have a predisposition to getting diabetes type 2?" I naively asked my doctor. "No, do nothing and you will get diabetes." she replied.

Trying to lose some weight to get my insulin resistance down and I've quickly found that a lot of advice out there is very singularly focused, potentially pushing your fructose intake through the roof, or your salt intake, or whatever, while lowering saturated fat or sugar ... and so on ...

The only thing that has really helped me getting clear about what action to take is to do some of my own research, finding any anomalies in the advice and then going to a dietitian armed with questions and ready for well informed discussion.

I now am about 5kgs lighter - slow and steady weight loss - am exercising regularly and sanely ... and know how to read food labels.

Add a regular check-in with my doctor, and the occasional follow-up with the dietitian, and I'm off to good start.

There's no quick fix. Holistic is the only way to go.

Posted by: Balance on April 7, 2010 3:18 PM

I am sympathetic with 'mb' who posted earlier.

I was recently diagnosed with fructose malabsorption after 5 years of doctor's not being able to figure out my bloating issues. Apparently they think that many people have been misdiagnosed with IBS over the years.

After initial fears that I'd collapse from scurvey if I didn't get to eat fruit, my dietician advised that I'm really not getting anything additional from fruit (other than sugar) if I am already eating a variety of vegetables.

Since my change in diet I have never felt better and my tummy has never been flatter...six pack here I come!

Posted by: KH on April 7, 2010 4:53 PM

I was living in the States for a number of years and was appalled by the high content of High Fructose Corn Syrup in processed foods. I would buy a can of tomato soup in the States and tip it upside down to discover that it was so viscous it wouldn't move. The same brand of tomato soup here pours easily. Coca Cola has Fructose Corn syrup in the US and to my knowledge does not in Australia. I have so many more friends in the US who have children suffering from diabetes, allergies and obesity compared to Australia. Anecdotally, I have often wondered whether it was the high incidence of corn syrup which was the culprit.

Posted by: SS on April 7, 2010 5:00 PM

I found out I was highly fructose intolerant at the Box Hill Hospital Gastro Clinic (no referral reqd).
After I went on a low fructose & low fructan (veggie sugar) diet my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms entirely cleared up! The symptoms come back immediately if I eat fruit or veggies.
I take vitamin supplements regularly and have my GP keep an eye on my cholesterol etc levels.
It was amazing what a difference to my health this diet made. It's basically gluten free bread, white rice, meat & eggs. Very boring but if you're fructose intolerant it can really help!

Posted by: Jeannie on April 7, 2010 5:18 PM

I think the way to go is not to buy packaged foods at all - then you don't have to bother about reading labels! I know that's easier said than done for some but once you get used to it, you can whip up simple meals and snacks from scratch, with no added anything. Or just grab a banana - no labels to read but you know it's good for you and tasty too.

Posted by: michelle on April 7, 2010 5:42 PM

I've been medically diagnosed with fructose intolerance so always check the labels of everything I eat as even the smallest piece of onion will make me sick for days.
Unless you know what you're looking for on the labels it's suprising what you'll find has a form of fructose in it. All sugar free gum, most artificial sweetners, many medications contain sortibol and manitol which are both fructose. I found it especially difficult in the states as everything that would usually have sugar in it had HFCS instead and all diet foods had sorbitol as the sweetner so there was no avoiding it.

Posted by: Steph on April 7, 2010 5:46 PM

Shouldn't we be more worried about preservatives/artificial colours??

Posted by: Dee on April 7, 2010 6:34 PM

MB and KH,

I have a sister who also has a problem with fruit. Once she stopped eating it she dropped from an 18 to a 12 and is much happier and healthier.

I check labels and keep away from foods with excess sugar. I'm very wary of HFCS as our bodies have no mechanism for recognising and regulating fructose intake.

Posted by: jayne on April 7, 2010 10:22 PM

Hey Paula, regarding: Liz on April 7 2010 1:55PM, comment - I thought the more sugar one consumes, the harder the pancreas has to work and even though a person maintains healthy weight and stays active, in the long-run they will eventually become insulin resistant which can lead to pre-diabetes and eventually type 2 diabetes.

Having said all of that, yes I ALWAYS read nutritional panels on the small amount of canned/packaged foods I purchase - we buy mostly wholefoods of the fruit & veg variety, nuts & seeds, legumes, organic/free range meat/poultry/eggs/dairy.

My sweetener of choice is Stevia - which is a wonderful product, a natural calorie and carbohydrate free sweetener - which also just happens to be a healthful pancreatic tonic: it has a regulating effect on the pancreas and helps stabilise blood sugar levels. Google Stevia and you will find a wide range of health benefits.

Stevia needs to be looked at by commercial food companies as an alternative, or at least partial replacement to sugar - it is up to 300 times sweeter than sugar, and as mentioned has zero calories and carbs.

All that said, as a person who eats 2-3 pieces of fresh fruit per day and at least 5-6 serves of raw or lightly steamed veg, I find I am so full and satisfied that I am rarely tempted to eat treats and find junk food revolting.

The upside to eating fruit as an alternative to sweets is the fibre and all of the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

I read recently that whilst vitamin supplements are a great way of making sure you're getting the RDI of essential vitamins and minerals, they are not a substitute for fresh fruit and veg because there are still over 10,000 various nutrients, vitamins/minerals/antioxidants still to be isolated and named...

Hi - here's some info on sugar and diabetes from the American Diabetes Association:Myth: Eating too much sugar causes diabetes. Fact: No, it does not. Type 1 diabetes is caused by genetics and unknown factors that trigger the onset of the disease; type 2 diabetes is caused by genetics and lifestyle factors. Being overweight does increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes, and a diet high in calories, whether from sugar or from fat, can contribute to weight gain. Re stevia, here's some reliable info on nutritionist Catherine Saxelby's Foodwatch websitehttp://foodwatch.com.au/hot-issues-in-the-news/stevia-a-new-sweetener.html Not sure how strong the research is on its health benefits yet - would imagine it needs more studies. Paula

Posted by: Miss M on April 7, 2010 11:45 PM

Thanks Paula and Sugarfree. I think this is something I have to concentrate on, and I really do need to get back to more wholefoods. :)

Posted by: GC on April 8, 2010 7:42 AM

OK - looks like you need us Melbourne skeptics!

Fructose vs Sucrose? it surprises me that the sugar our ancestors were most exposed to could be the worse?

I found the above article enlightening because of the comments at the bottom, particularly from the grad student who had no vested interest and had actually looked at the results. (How often do we see in health research big conclusions being drawn from experiments that were designed to test something else, or were just poorly designed in the first place!)

I think we can safely assume all carbohydrates have similar effects on the body, it is just the effect on the taste buds that differ most.

This then is the vital point - if we are going on the attack on sugar, what about all carbohydrates? they are essentially sugars too!

In the end, the body needs calories, it is our most essential nutrient! in a situation of sickness or being marooned, it is the calorie that will help us more in the short term than anything else.
The fear of sugar is then a greatly misguided fear, and yet there is obviously a danger that needs to be expressed in better terms. The danger is essentially that having available foods that provide sugars but are light on in other essential nutrients, we risk slow malnourishment by consuming refined carbohydrates in excess - this is true of all refined carbohydrates, from white flour to white sugar. it is even true of fruit! - most fruit contain a trace of vitamins, sometimes potassium, but are generally lacking in most minerals needed to maintain a healthy metabolism. Sure the fruititarians and orang-utans may survive, but as Paula notes, they aren't just eating fruit! Also, the natural enzymes in fresh fruit may educe the nutritional cost of these sugars?

The idea that bad nutrients make us fat is also something that we need to rethink. Obesity observations need to be understood in the light of long-term obesity studies as well. Any diet that causes short-term weight gain or loss will induce short-term changes in metabolism. Increasing your adipose weight creates a feedback effect as the body has less room to put away excess calories into storage. This effect is essentially seen as increased insulin resistance and is interpreted as a step towards diabetes. However, given that we know that human bodies almost always rebound to their preferred weight, the insulin resistance results should also be considered as a short term fluctuation. The same is certainly true with weight loss, weight loss certainly induces greater insulin sensitivity, leading people to believe they are now healthier, but again, this "improvement" can only be seen as short term based on the bodies current state of being under its preferred weight.
If this short-term induced insulin sensitivity protects against heart disease slightly, its benefits are also likely negated by having a weaker immune system associated with a lower metabolism.
In this light, I believe we must be very careful about interpreting any experiment that finds weight changes in humans and rats, as they are always short term experiments that rarely follow through with benefits and adverse effects over longer periods.

In the long term, the best we can do for our bodies is to ensure we are getting adequate nutrition. If we are consuming large quantities of refined carbohydrates, it follows that we are probably depleting our body in many essential nutrients like B Vitamins and minerals. Probably the main reason high-sugar diets lead to tooth decay is not so much the acidosis in the mouth (which all carbohydrates create), but the body not having the available minerals and activators to keep our bones and teeth renewed. I believe that in metabolising a carbohydrate, the body must use vitamins and minerals. I have heard claim that metabolising fats is less expensive nutritionally - I cannot confirm this, but would be interested if anyone does have a source on this.

So my advise is to find ways of satisfying your sweet tooth such that you are not missing out on the vitamins and minerals you require. One such way is to seek out unrefined sugars like molasses sugar and rapadura/panella/jaggery which are rich in minerals and may contain some B vitamins. The strong caramelly flavour of molasses sugar can enhance many recipes. Unfortunately, I know of no suitable replacement for white sugar when it comes to making meringues.
Soft-drinks addicts should consider making home brewed ginger-ale (high in B-vitamins). Kombucha and Kvass are worth investigating as well.

Sorry for the long post - but I think this topic needs some approach from more than one angle!

Posted by: Gordon Rouse on April 8, 2010 8:35 AM

Paula, you were right earlier when you stated there's no causal link between sugar consumption and type 2 diabetes. There's also no causal link between T2D and overweight/obesity, only a correlation. The American Diabetes Association recently put out a fact sheet addressing myths about diabetes, including the fact that the great majority of overweight/obese people will not get diabetes, and that about 20-30% of people with T2D are of normal weight. Nearly all people with T2D have at least one parent or grandparent with the condition. Onset may be delayed with regular exercise and possibly stress reduction, but I don't think people should feel like it's their "fault" somehow if they are diagnosed with T2D, it is a highly genetic disease that's hard to prevent. Caloric restriction (which may or may not cause weight loss) and exercise after diagnosis may put T2D into temporary remission, or make controlling it easier, but most people find, often to their dismay, that it comes back and/or gets worse as they get older. It's really a disease of ageing. Gina Kolata wrote a great article on diabetes for the New York Times which discusses this issue, well worth a read.

Posted by: Lena on April 8, 2010 10:04 AM

There is a problem with the argument about the fruitarians, not all fruit has a higher ratio of fructose to glucose. As mentioned in the part about fructose malabsorption if there is equal or a higher ratio of glucose then there is less or no problem absorbing the fructose. Perhaps the weight gain link has something to do with fructose malabsorption? If you're unable to absorb other things in the gut due to the fermentation of fructose then perhaps you eat more? Or the digestive system is sluggish in general so your metabolism is slower or something.
The other argument is that fruitarians also eat nuts and seeds and therefore it's not taking the implications of digesting components of these foods into consideration.

Posted by: tashimi76 on April 9, 2010 12:05 PM

I had irritable bowel symptoms for years until I did a 6 week sugar free diet (very strict - no fruit or even sugary veges like beetroot allowed). The first 2 weeks were hell, but after my cravings subsided the next 4 weeks were fine. That was 3 years ago and my irritable bowel symptoms have never returned. And my taste buds have changed. AND - a bit of chocolate every now and again doesn't trigger flatulence.

Also, I noticed that comment about Fruitarians's. Do they still exist? I heard they died off when all their hair, nails and skin fell off due to lack of nutrients?

Posted by: Kathryn on April 10, 2010 9:28 AM

Thanks, this is interesting. I often get bloated from fruit, especially apples, so I limit my daily intake to bananas and berries which I tolerate better.

As an aside, from childhood I've had an aversion to softdrink, as I don't like the carbonation. So many people I know just guzzle soft-drink by the litre every day and are often overweight, even though their diet might be otherwise healthy. I really think soft-drink has a significant effect on weight gain and am glad I've never had a taste for the stuff. Maybe too much emphasis is put on what we eat and nothing is mentioned of what we drink.

Thanks for the gram and sugar conversion, I'll remember that.

Posted by: Tina on April 10, 2010 4:12 PM

People who suffer from fructose malabsorption (like myself) need to avoid high fructose foods, such as apples, pears, onions, coconut milk (and the list goes on) and all supermarket and premade foods (such as restaurant meals) containing these items. There are countless products that contain onion, apple puree and fruit juice concentrate (which is mostly apple). I am only grateful that in Australia the use of corn syrup is not common, as for the days I wish to indulge in a little sweet (such as a chocolate bar, many or most of which contain fructose in the US), I know that I won't get physically ill (not only gas, but bloating, cramps, back ache, the runs) from any added fructose. I have noted that fructose is in increasingly more supermarket items and I hope that fructose will not be in increasing use.